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Monday, August 1, 2016

Repairs and improvements at the DNC - Prof. Abraham Ben Zvi

by Prof. Abraham Ben Zvi

Obama chose the
Philadelphia stage as a platform to get even with the real estate baron
who is threatening to erase his legacy from the country's collective
memory.

At first glance, the
Democratic National Convention did not differ from the accepted
tradition at such gatherings. Indeed, after the faltering opening, which
was overshadowed by the exposure of the attempts by the Democratic
establishment (working as a satellite of Hillary Clinton) to obstruct
and attack the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, things calmed down. The
latter's decision to quell the flames and endorse Clinton, even after it
became clear that she had used tactics straight out of former President
Richard Nixon's playbook against him, brought comparative quiet to the
convention hall.

The Philadelphia
convention turned into an honor guard in which marched a gallery of past
and present political leaders, decorated retired military officials,
and of course, celebrities. They all sang the praises of the Democratic
nominee and her astounding sensitivity to the troubles of the weaker
socioeconomic sectors. All this, while glossing over her close ties to
the business and finance elite of New York. At the same time, the
speakers excoriated the positions, temperament, and style of their
opponent, Donald Trump, and ridiculed his plan to restore America to
greatness.

The attempt to turn the
party convention into a synthetic, cloying PR clip about Clinton is a
regular feature of party conferences of this type, but this time we
could discern a slight variation. First, the attempts by the speakers --
mostly President Barack Obama himself -- to deny or minimize the
question of Clinton's trustworthiness, which was the Democratic elephant
in the room, were artificial and absurd. Obama, for example, did
"address" that Achilles heel, but only in the context of the dynamic of
making decisions, in which the people involved (including him) cannot
always guarantee their success, and not in the specific context of the
nominee's manipulative, twisted path in public life, which goes back to
the distant Arkansas days.

Second, while it's true
that in both the near and distant past the sitting president has taken
an active role in his party's convention, when we're talking about the
leader of a nation who is about to leave office, he could be expected to
appear as a statesman who represents the values of the entire nation,
and not as a regular politician who stops at nothing to slander his
enemy. But despite that deeply rooted tradition, Obama chose the
Philadelphia stage as a platform to get even with the real estate baron
who is threatening to erase his legacy from the country's collective
memory. In referring to Trump as a combative, divisive demagogue, Obama
cast off any signs of presidential conduct and turned into a
businessman.

And what about Clinton
herself? The essence of her acceptance speech was intended to function
as self-criticism and present the public with an improved, more
attractive calling card. And she was indeed articulate and full of
optimism about her ability to heal the schisms in American society,
which is being forced to confront Islamic terrorism, economic troubles
and serious violence in its own backyard. In the best political
tradition, the Philadelphia convention, which -- except for its first
day -- was conducted as a well-oiled Hollywood production, checked the
recent anti-Clinton tide in the polls. The last poll roundup, which came
out at the end of the convention, reflected that and indicated that
Clinton and Trump were polling even. A new Reuters poll that asked
respondents about the four remaining candidates, including Libertarian
Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, showed exactly the
same result. However, another poll by the news agency that focused on
Trump and Clinton only gave Clinton a 6% lead over her opponent.

All that remains is to
wait and see if the new momentum will carry Clinton to victory, despite
the promise of her opponent to take off the gloves, or whether the
question about her trustworthiness, which was swept under the rug in
Philadelphia, will continue to hamper her until Nov. 8.

Prof. Abraham Ben ZviSource: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=16827 Follow Middle East and Terrorism on TwitterCopyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.